Summarising, paraphrasing and quoting

Academic writing requirements Summary Paraphrase Short quote Block quote Entry in reference list: author-date (Harvard) style Further reading

Academic writing requirements

A distinctive characteristic of academic writing is that it is based on reading and research and it discusses the ideas and findings of other writers. As a student writer, therefore, it is essential that you know how to discuss the work of other writers and researchers and correctly acknowledge their contribution in the papers you submit for assessment. This resource deals with discussing the work of others in your writing and uses a sample extract to demonstrate the various processes involved. Integrating information and ideas from sources into your writing is a complex task, involving several skills. There are three ways of using the ideas, research findings and words of others in your writing. They are:

summarising paraphrasing quoting.

In your paper you should mainly summarise and paraphrase the writers you discuss and quote only sparingly. It is necessary to reference, whether summarising, paraphrasing or quoting. An extract from a text follows, with examples of summarising, paraphrasing and quoting, using the author-date (Harvard) style of referencing. Whichever referencing style is used, writers need to summarise and paraphrase their sources and correctly reference them.

To write successfully at university you need a sense of what the final product should look and sound like, so if possible, read model assignments or if these are not available, study the way in which journal articles have been written in your specific area. These articles may be lengthy and some may be based on research rather than a discussion of issues, but from them you will get a sense of how academic writing 'sounds', that is, its tone, and also how respected writers in your field assemble information. You will also gain a sense of the complexity of being an apprentice writer in an academic culture, or rather cultures, where expectations may vary from

discipline to discipline, even subject to subject and where you can build a repertoire of critical thinking and writing skills that enable you to enter the academic debates, even to challenge.

(The entire extract is used in the discussion on summarising; the highlighted segment for quoting and paraphrasing.) Source: Morley-Warner, T 2001, Academic writing is: a guide to writing in a university context , 2nd edn, CREA Publications, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, NSW. (This extract is from page 6.)

Summary
A summary is a condensation of a passage, an article or a book. There is no correlation between the length of a text and the length of a summary of it. An entire book can be summarised in one sentence! It all depends on your purpose as a writer. Of course, it is essential to understand the text and have a clear purpose for summarising it, in whatever detail you choose to do so. Here is a summary of the entire sample extract using the author-date (Harvard) style of referencing. Morley-Warner (2001, p. 6) suggests that for university students to convey the appropriate academic tone in their assignments, they should read sample assignments and study the way journal articles in their specific subjects are written. Through this process, she contends, students will develop the critical thinking and writing skills that will allow them to participate in academic debate. Points to note:

Only the main points have been included. The text is condensed without losing the essence of the material. Examples and explanations have been omitted. The summary writer's own words are used. (NOTE: Do not change technical terms.) Reporting verbs ('suggests' and 'contends') are used to discuss and comment on ideas in the text. In-text citation is provided, giving family name of author (no initials), year of publication and page number (as for the Harvard style). Page numbers should be provided if the summarised material appears in specific pages, chapters or sections. This source should have a reference list entry giving full bibliographic details.

Paraphrase
A paraphrase is the rephrasing of a short passage from a text, in about the same number of words. As a writer, you need to choose the passage or passages you wish to paraphrase because of their importance or interest and relevance to your paper. Of course, you need to fully understand the passage and have a clear purpose for using it.

Here is an example of a paraphrase of the highlighted text in the sample extract using the author-date (Harvard) style of referencing. Studying how journal articles are written students will come to understand what is required of them in their writing (Morely-Warner 2001, p. 6). They will also become aware of the different demands of various disciplines and even the different requirements from subject to subject, argues Morley-Warner (2001, p. 6). Through this process, MorleyWarner maintains, students will develop critical thinking and writing skills that will allow them to participate in academic debate and even to challenge ideas. Points to note:

The sentence structure and the vocabulary of the original have been changed. (NOTE: Do not change technical terms.) The first sentence introduces the paraphrased material. Reporting verbs ('argues' and 'maintains') are used throughout the paragraph to discuss the ideas from the source. In-text citation is given. Page numbers should be provided. The year and page numbers are not required for second and subsequent references to the writer within the narrative in the same paragraph, if the references are to the same work and the same page. When the name of the author and year are in parentheses in any one paragraph, the year is included in subsequent citations. This source should have a reference list entry giving full bibliographic details.

Short quote
A short quote is a sentence or part of a sentence which is reproduced exactly. It consists of fewer than about 30 words when using the author-date (Harvard) style and fewer than 40 words when using the APA style. This example relates to the author-date (Harvard) style. Morley-Warner (2001, p. 6) acknowledges the challenges of writing at university. She describes the novice student writer as 'an apprentice writer in an academic culture, or rather cultures, where expectations may vary from discipline to discipline, even subject to subject'. Points to note:

The quote is well chosen. It's important to quote sparingly and be selective in what you do quote. The writer comments on the quotation, and does not simply reproduced it. Reporting verbs are used ('acknowledges' and 'describes') to introduce and analyse the quotation. The quotation from the original is integrated into the writer's sentence. Single quotation marks are used to indicate the words from the original text. The in-text citation includes family name of author, (no initials), year of publication and page number. It is essential to provide page numbers for quotes. This source should have a reference list entry giving full bibliographic details.

Block quote
A block quote is a longer quote. It consists of more than about 30 words when using the author-date (Harvard) system and more than 40 words when using the APA system. It is set off from the body of the paper by indenting. This example relates to the author-date (Harvard) style.

Morley-Warner (2001) discusses how university students can learn to acquire and convey the appropriate academic tone in their assignments. She suggests that students should focus on how journal articles in their subject are written and structured. She describes another benefit of this process:

You will also gain a sense of the complexity of being an apprentice writer in an academic culture, or rather cultures, where expectations may vary from discipline to discipline, even subject to subject and where you can build a repertoire of critical thinking and writing skills that enable you to enter the academic debates, even to challenge. (Morley-Warner 2001, p. 6)

Reading is central to study at university. It is through reading that ... Points to note:

The writer introduces the quotation and does not simply reproduce it. The quotation is preceded by a preliminary explanation (the first three sentences). Reporting verbs ('discusses', 'suggests' and 'describes') are used to introduce the material quoted. The in-text citation includes family name of author, (no initials), year of publication and page number. It is essential to provide page numbers for quotes. The quotation is indented - set in from the left margin. The quotation is preceded by a colon. Smaller font size is used - usually 1 point smaller. Single spacing is used for the quotation; the rest of the paper should use 1.5 spacing or double spacing (for university assignments). No quotation marks are used because formatting (indenting, smaller font size, single spacing) indicates it is a quote. This source should have a reference list entry giving full bibliographic details.

Entry in reference list: author-date (Harvard) style

Whether you summarise, paraphrase or quote, you should provide full details of each source in a reference list at the end of your paper. The reference list should contain all the works cited in the paper and no works that are not cited. A work is listed only once in the reference list, regardless of how many times it is cited in text. Here is the entry for the sample text in a reference list compiled according to the author-date (Harvard) style: Morley-Warner, T 2001, Academic writing is...: a guide to writing in a university context , 2nd edn, CREA Publications, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, NSW.

Note: Morley-Warner, T 2001 Academic writing is...: a guide to writing in a university context 2nd edn family name and initial of author year title and subtitle in italics edition (if not the first)

CREA Publications, University of Technology Sydney Lindfield NSW

publisher city of publication state (for relatively unknown city)